334 
NEW ALKALOID OF OPIUM. 
subsided. A second bottle was administered, with still more 
permanent benefit; and a third decided the cure, which was 
definite, the results of the cauterization being the only evidence 
of the accident which had occurred.” 
A writer in the American Journal of Medical Science, 
alluding to the bites of venomous snakes, remarks that “ the 
Euphorbia prostata is said to be an antidote to the poison of 
the rattlesnake. Its virtues reside in the juice of the stem, 
root, and leaves, extracted by bruising and diluted with water. 
Dr. Irwin, U.S.A., has experimented to a considerable extent 
upon animals, and considers it an invaluable specific.” 
USE OE GLYCERINE IN THE INTERNAL EMPLOYMENT OE 
CHLOROEORM. 
M. Bonnet, a pharmacien to one of the Paris hospitals, 
gives an account of the various means he has tried of reme¬ 
dying the inconveniences which attend the ordinary mode of 
prescribing chloroform for internal use; seeing that, in con¬ 
sequence of its insolubility in ordinary vehicles, it is adminis¬ 
tered equably only with difficulty. He finds that mixing 
equal parts of chloroform and the finest glycerine in a mortar, 
until the droplets of chloroform cease to be visible, com¬ 
pletely answers the end. When water or other adjuvant is 
added, a limpid fluid is produced, which exhibits no sign of 
separation, even when more than 100 parts by weight of the 
chloroform are added to distilled water. It is essential for 
this that the glycerine shall be perfectly pure. Sulphuric 
ether may be administered in the same way. For external 
application chloroform should be similarly combined, a 
larger proportion being caused to be taken up by more rub¬ 
bing. This preparation of the chloroform prevents the painful 
irritation which sometimes ensues on its application.— Medical 
Times and Gazette. 
NEW ALKALOID OE OPIUM. 
Dr. Wittstein claims to have discovered a new alkaloid 
in opium, which he has named metarmorphia. This makes 
the ninth alkaloid obtained from that drug.— American Medi¬ 
cal Times. 
